About Us

The contributors to the Consumer Law & Policy blog are lawyers and law professors who
practice, teach, or write about consumer law and policy. The blog is hosted by Public
Citizen Litigation Group, but the views expressed here are solely those of the individual contributors (and don't necessarily
reflect the views of institutions with which they are affiliated). To view the blog's policies, please click here.

Friday, September 21, 2012

The CFPB's Consumer Advisory Board

As you may know, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has recently named its Consumer Advocacy Board. Go here to read its members' names and bios. The Board will have its first public meeting in St. Louis on September 27. CFPB head Richard Cordray will speak (and presumably introduce the advisory board). Here's how the CFPB describes how the Board was picked and what its functions will be:

Through a public process, the Bureau has invited external experts,
industry representatives, consumers, community leaders and advocates to
apply to be a member of this advisory group. As a result, the Consumer
Advisory Board is a crowdsourced group of experts on consumer
protection, consumer financial products or services, community
development, fair lending, civil rights, underserved communities, and
communities that have been significantly impacted by higher priced
mortgage loans. They are a source of market intelligence and expertise
for us, and also advise and consult us on our work. The board helps
inform us about emerging practices or trends in the consumer finance
industry, and shares analysis and recommendations.They are charged with
identifying and assessing the impact of emerging products, practices, or
services on consumers and other market participants.

Crowdsourced? Yes. The advisory board members come from a range of backgrounds: academia, consumer advocacy, and the financial services industry. The advisory board's charter is here.